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What do you think? Is there hope for our earth?
jll
Veteran
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2011/06/20116227153978324.html
It amazes me that an advanced country like Canada can allow such things to happen.
It amazes me that an advanced country like Canada can allow such things to happen.
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Comments
Of course there's hope. Why else would anyone be raising one hue and cry after another?
Human beings by nature are blinded & hindered by craving & ignorance. When the Buddha taught about the sea tortoise, he said birth with a "humane mind" is rare rather than birth in a human physical body
To be "amazed" by defiled actions is confusion. To believe the world can be "good" is confusion. Such ideas & moral crusading are contrary to Buddha-Dhamma.
But seriously, I think the momentum is too great and the time to short to avoid serious consequences. The earth and humans are resilient and I don't think its the final end for either, but I don't think it will be pretty. I guess I have hope that there are enough people when faced with annihalation or change will be able to change and that humanity is smart enough and resourceful enough to find its way through. I think the more difficult question is will society survive?
Not sure about us humans though.
Whether we find replacements for non-renewable resources remains to be seen. Who knows if we will find the alternatives in time. Only time will tell, and that means that all we can do is do what we can now.
Who knows though? The earth could not exist tomorrow :l
Add to this - "hope" is confusion - and we arrive at a place where there is no hope - and not a place of despair and destitution - but one of freedom from hope - a place of acceptance, as impossible as that sounds.... Whether this is sarcasm or praise just doesn't matter.....
it is just a time frame of when things may get ulgy, fast... in the end it is just a guesstimate.
I just saw this, thought it was relevant.
In an address delivered at Oslo, when he was awarded the Noble Prize for Peace, that great humanitarian, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, spoke for all humanity when he said: “Let us face the facts. Man has become a superman. Not only has he innate physical forces at his command but, thanks to science and to technical advancement, he controls the latent forces of nature. But this superman suffers from a fatal imperfection. He has not raised himself to that superhuman level of reason which should correspond to the possession of superhuman strength.” This is the Great Show-down. The latent forces of nature, which man now controls, will destroy man as readily as they will serve him. They are mindless and efficient, like a razor: It is for man to decide whether to shave—or cut his throat. The razor does not care. It waits, supremely indifferent. Can we raise ourselves to that superhuman level of reason necessary for our survival on this planet? Are we mature enough to realise that we cannot destroy each other any longer without destroying ourselves? A lot depends on the answers to these questions. They will make all the difference between a common home and a common cemetery.
"If anyone tells you that there is a single factor or explanation for societal collapse, you'll know right away that they are an idiot."
In spite of his pronounced judgment of idiocy on anyone claiming that there is one single explanation for societal collapse...
I claim that there is indeed one single explanation for societal collapse:
the failure to learn, change, and grow.
All of life is about learning, changing, and growing.
It is when we refuse to learn
refuse to change
and refuse to grow
that our relationships with ourselves, one another, other species, and the planet itself collapse into utter destruction and desolation.
As long as there is willingness to learn, change, and grow
there is life
there is hope
I see this as a realm ruled by deception, duplicity, avarice, and self interest. I don't mean this as a negative judgment, just an observation. Our collective consciousness has allowed these characteristics to be the dominate ones. We do not hold power to a high enough standard. I don't think that hope is a factor. It would take a major shift in consciousness for the world. People would have to value truth above all for things to change.
@jll- Thank you for posting the words of Dr. Albert Schweitzer. I admire him and his work. His words are as true and relevant now as they were then. He had the strength of character that we desperately need now.
@aura- I agree that the failure to learn, change, and grow is the root cause of our problems. There are always people who will evolve and try to raise other people's consciousness. Sadly, there will always be more who want to maintain the status quo and will fight hard to undermine anyone who would change it.
You may have hit the nail on the head from a Buddhist perspective, but from an academic perspective the guy is right. Of course however we are Buddhists not scientists and academics so the lecturer is right from his own perspective, Though some of us may fulfill both roles.
@kayte, an intelligent and insightful post, the same goes for @jII